Brett Conlin’s new full-band Americana-rock album is a nostalgic and sometimes wistful look at his youthful days growing up in Kewanee.

Backyard Tire Fire's new album drops Friday. They perform at the Black Dirt Music Festival in Bloomington on Saturday. Wilco headlines the fest.

Author John Milward connects American music legends like The Carter Family and Hank Williams with today's big stars including Jason Isbell and Brandi Carlisle.

Bloomington-based hip-hop artist Darius Williams says his new album was self-therapy during a difficult time. He says it's his most personal work to date.

Like many bands, the Bloomington-based quintet Old Smoke used downtime during the pandemic to write and record a new album.

Family took center stage on Dan Hubbard's new five-song EP “Fall in Love Again (Quarantine Lullabies)”.

The COVID-19 vaccine rollout has many optimistic a return to something resembling “normal” is approaching. That includes a Bloomington Normal live-music scene gutted by the pandemic. Most music organizers in the Twin Cities said they are shooting for summer and fall performances.

Rick Valentin says dreary central Illinois winter weather is why he began writing and recording new music in January 2020. But that exercise for his solo vehicle, Thoughts Detecting Machines, evolved into an album that acted as a coping mechanism when the pandemic hit.

Dominique Stevenson is a very visible Twin City activist who uses his music to spread a message of unity and encouragement. He was on the front lines of social justice marches last summer and even founded the youth-based advocacy group Next Gen Initiative.

Bloomington singer/songwriter Brett Conlin said a three-month isolation at home with his family last spring became the fodder for his just released acoustic EP "The Great Divide."